Friday, May 25, 2007, 2:27 pm

Nuts!

That's what thousands of Jericho fans are sending to CBS studios. I have to admit I'm impressed with their efforts, but I'd be lying if I thought it would do any good.

I did watch the show, but I've been so jaded by network execs swinging their axes that it really doesn't even phase me anymore. It used to, but really, what good does it do to get upset about cancelled shows?

If they want to show their reality crap, then I guess I didn't really need to watch television anyway! =^D

There are a handful of shows that I really enjoyed and thought they should have received a full run:

Wonderfalls quickly became and will always be my favorite show. It was quirky, funny, a bit twisted, and it had great acting and fabulous writing. Fox killed it after four episodes, but the remaining episodes leaked onto the Internet (I think a network in Canada aired them), and later they released the run on DVD, with plenty of features, and the commentary featured several jabs by the cast and crew at Fox for giving them a chance.

Good Company was a quirky little office sitcom with a great cast, including a then relatively unknown Lauren Graham, Jon Tenney, Jason Beghe, Wendie Malick Terry Kiser and Seymour Cassel. CBS axed it after six episodes. Unlike Wonderfalls I seriously doubt this will ever surface from whatever vault it's in. In many ways The Office is very similar to this one... just better.

Wolf Lake featured a secluded town where werewolves live. City detective John Kanin (Lou Diamond Phillips) follows a lead that his missing fiancée (Mia Kirshner) might be here, and settles into this small town slowly discovering just how strange it really is. CBS axed this one after four episodes, but aired the remaining episodes on their UPN network. Again, probably one for the vaults, not the retail shelves.

John Doe was a wonderful "thinking man's" escape. A man is discovered off the coast of Seattle and he knows everything except who he is. Yes, everything. He makes a lot of money following stock patterns, can play anything on the piano, knows some of the most trivial things. He befriends a police detective and together with other sidekicks they solve random bizarre crimes. One would think that in this day of CSI a show like this could work. FOX gave this one a full season after a summer of extreme promotion, but then pulled the plug after the cliffhanger... a lot like Jericho.

Of course, there are others: Firefly, Futurama, Birds of Prey to name a few (very few).

I've given the Jericho fans campaign some thought, and I think they are going about it the wrong way. Do people really think CBS cares if people watch them? Only the chosen ones with those Nielsen boxes matter at all, and those drones are consistently responsible for giving us mindless game shows and reality television.

No, in order to be effecting, one cannot stop watching CBS. If all of these fans were to watch CBS, take note of every sponsor and advertiser and begin a combination letter writing/boycotting blitz of CBS's money-makers... that might have a chance. Gone are the days of letter writing campaigns that saved Star Trek and Herman's Head. Gone are the influences of an exec's wife that saved M*A*S*H. If you want to send CBS a message, you have to hit them in the wallet.

I would like to see another season of Jericho, but with it's cancellation I only have three shows I'll follow next year. That leaves a lot of free time for me to socialize! =^)

Which isn't bad in itself! People watch entirely too much television anyway!

What i'm listening to:
American Thighs 25
Veruca Salt
American Thighs